082 - He's Not My Son.
Jin Muhon, Geomje, Muheo, and Buso-yong moved to a quiet private room they had reserved separately.
Drurk—thud!
Muheo shut the door and hurriedly took a seat at the round table.
The clamor of the inn faded away beyond the single door, and the air in the room settled low and heavy.
"All right, out with it. Why'd you come looking for us? No, before that—what the hell happened to your face?"
Muheo didn't stop talking even though Geomje had probably come to see Buso-yong, pouring out his questions nonstop.
A faint smile tugged at Geomje's lips.
"It's been decades since we last met. No greeting?"
"Yeah, yeah, good to see you. So why's your face like that?"
Muheo waved him off dismissively, then his eyes sparkled as he scrutinized Geomje's features. The strong lines and youthful handsomeness lingered, but the marks of time were unmistakable.
"How'd the world's greatest beauty end up looking so old? You look even older than me."
"Muheo. Can't you shut up for a bit?"
Buso-yong, unable to stand it any longer, furrowed her brow.
Muheo shrank back slightly but didn't close his mouth.
"Come on, Palace Lord. Doesn't it seem weird to you too? He looks older than me."
"Hahaha! Does he? But I've never been the world's greatest beauty."
Geomje showed no sign of offense at Muheo's rudeness.
Rumor had it he had the strictest temper of anyone, but in person, he was different. Perhaps it was the softening effect of reuniting with old connections after so long.
"Huh? Then who was it? Honestly, even if your sword skills are whatever, that face was worth acknowledging."
"Really. You're the same as ever."
Geomje shook his head slowly.
"The world's greatest beauty from our era wasn't me—it was one of the Four Emperors. Right?"
"Huh? Dan Ri-ye? That guy's eyes were always a little off."
"You didn't know? The ladies of the jianghu found that gaze alluring. Dangerous yet mysterious, they said."
"What?!"
Muheo jumped up in shock, as if hearing this for the first time in his life. He whipped his head around to check Buso-yong's reaction.
She simply lifted her teacup for a sip, neither confirming nor denying Geomje's words.
"Palace Lord! You think so too? That Dan Ri-ye was really the world's greatest beauty—gah!"
Splash!
Buso-yong flung the tea from her cup right at him.
Muheo dodged with astonishing agility, then caught every drop in the teapot.
Geomje's eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh! Muheo, you've improved quite a bit since I last saw you."
"Quite a bit, my ass... tch."
Muheo glanced warily at Buso-yong and slunk back into his seat. Her gaze, visible through her veil, was icy cold.
"Have you lost your internal energy?"
"Yes."
Geomje wiped the smile from his face and nodded calmly.
Muheo's eyes bulged.
"What? I thought you just seemed too strong for me to sense your aura! You really lost your internal energy?"
"Indeed."
Geomje gave a wry smile as he looked back and forth between Muheo and Buso-yong. Then, for the first time, his gaze settled on Jin Muhon.
"But this man..."
Geomje, one of the pinnacle masters of the orthodox sects, had lost his internal energy. It was an ultra-secret not yet known in the jianghu.
Until now, with no mention from Buso-yong or Muheo, they'd let it slide, but they couldn't pretend not to notice Jin Muhon's presence forever.
Muheo answered in a daze on his behalf.
"He's the Yunbong Sword Hero."
"Yunbong Sword Hero?"
Geomje stared straight at Jin Muhon.
Even without internal energy, he was the former supreme patriarch of the mighty Nangong family. Anyone in the jianghu should introduce themselves and show respect first.
But Jin Muhon showed no such inclination.
"Hm?!"
Instead, his face began to twitch and shift.
"Reverse Disguise!"
Jin Muhon's features slowly reverted to their original form.
"...!"
Geomje's eyes went wide at the astonishing reverse disguise technique he'd never seen before. Indifferent eyes with bottomless depths, straight brows, firmly set mouth, and a strong jawline.
This is no ordinary man.
Geomje didn't know the Sword Demon's face, so he couldn't even imagine who Jin Muhon was.
In the end, Geomje introduced himself first.
"You've probably heard, but I'm Nangong Cheon. Pleased to meet you."
"Jin Muhon."
"Hm..."
Geomje frowned slightly and placed a hand on his sword hilt.
The blunt, informal speech was one thing, but locking eyes with Jin Muhon stirred a long-dormant fighting spirit.
"Who exactly are you?"
"Patriarch of the Yunbong Jin family."
"Yunbong Jin family?"
Geomje tilted his head.
He hadn't felt that fighting spirit even from the patriarchs of the Five Great Families. Yet he'd never heard of a family with such a man as its head.
Understanding his confusion, Buso-yong spoke briefly.
"The Jin Patriarch is the Sword Demon."
"Hm... I see. The Sword Demon... What?! Th-the Sword Demon?!"
Even without internal energy, Geomje had kept his composure—until now, when he jolted in shock. Thanks to his ingrained dignity, he didn't topple backward like others might have.
Muheo snickered.
"Kekeke! Even the mighty Sword Emperor fears the Sword Demon? Well, without your internal energy, can't be helped."
Ignoring Muheo's jab, Geomje stared piercingly at Jin Muhon with wide eyes.
"You're... really the Sword Demon?"
"I was. Not anymore."
"Hmmm."
Geomje recalled the rumors circulating in the jianghu. The Sword Demon, called the greatest swordsman of the demonic path despite being his junior, had been chased out of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
Whether this was calamity or fortune, only time would tell.
Geomje turned to Buso-yong.
"Palace Lord. If you're traveling with the Sword Demon, that means you trust him, right?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
Geomje's heavy gaze shifted back to Jin Muhon.
"The Palace Lord is the one I trust most, so I'll trust you as well."
Buso-yong tilted her head curiously.
"It's an honor, but strange. Haven't you always had crowds of people around you?"
"That was then. Not now."
Geomje smiled bitterly.
Muheo barged in tactlessly.
"Hey! Does that mean you don't trust me?"
"Of course not. I know better than anyone your unwavering loyalty to the Palace Lord. How could you betray her? Naturally, I trust you too, Muheo."
"...Damn. That's a weird reason to trust someone."
Muheo scratched his head, embarrassed for no reason.
Buso-yong let out a soft sigh.
"From this long preamble, it seems you have some difficult request."
"I hate to impose. I tried handling it myself, but things have come to this..."
So Geomje's loss of internal energy was tied to whatever had brought him to Buso-yong.
"You can trust the Jin Patriarch, so spill it freely. No worries about leaks."
Buso-yong had already spread an aura barrier upon entering the room. No chance of their conversation escaping.
Geomje met their eyes with a grave expression, pondering where to begin. After a moment, he spoke.
"The current patriarch of the main family... is not my son."
"...?"
Buso-yong and Muheo didn't grasp his meaning right away. Unlike the Nine Great Sects, the Five Great Families followed primogeniture unless special circumstances arose.
"Not your son? You mean... your wife...?"
Muheo narrowed his eyes and trailed off.
Geomje shook his head immediately.
"Not that. He was the eldest son I was so proud of. But not now. His appearance is exactly the same, but that man is not my son. I can tell."
"What... Didn't you say you lost your internal energy? Gone senile?"
Muheo blinked, scrutinizing Geomje's eyes. The statement was so out of left field, but there was no hint of deceit.
Then, the silent Jin Muhon spoke up.
"Does the patriarch feel like a different person?"
"Hm?"
Geomje turned to meet Jin Muhon's gaze.
Buso-yong and Muheo seemed skeptical of his words, yet the Sword Demon asked calmly, without a flicker of surprise.
Geomje's eyes lit up. He'd half-doubted anyone would believe him, but this was the Sword Demon. He might know something.
"Yes."
Geomje nodded gravely.
"Did his eyes occasionally flash with a bloody glow?"
"Bloody glow? Well... It's been ages since I saw him, so maybe... I'm not sure. Sword Demon, do you know something? Have you seen this in the Demonic Cult...?"
Instead of answering, Jin Muhon fell silent, deep in thought.
At the mention of the Demonic Cult, Buso-yong and Muheo realized this was no trivial matter.
Anyone else might have lost composure and begged, but Geomje stayed as calm as possible even now.
"Jin Patriarch. I'm dying here waiting—say something..."
Muheo even urged Jin Muhon on.
Jin Muhon raised his eyes. For an instant, a chilling red glow flashed in them.
Geomje's eyes widened, and he clamped his mouth shut.
"Hrm... yes. I remember now. That's exactly the look in his eyes the last time I saw him."
Geomje nodded with a trembling voice.
Jin Muhon extinguished the glow and looked around at the three of them. It seemed the time had come to explain.
"There was a man called Ma-seon."
From Jin Muhon's mouth flowed the tale of Ma-seon, calm and unadorned.
"Hrm..."
"Heavens! How could such a..."
He revealed how Ma-seon had sustained his existence in this world and the nature of his power, holding nothing back.
The three pinnacle masters, countable on one hand in the orthodox murim, were stunned that this Ma-seon had lurked in the shadows of murim for centuries.
When the neither short nor long story ended, they all sat speechless, dazed expressions on their faces.
"Th-that... Dan Ri-ye and the technique you learned... Fate Soul Heaven Sacrificing Scripture, was it? Anyway, that's Ma-seon's technique?"
Muheo stammered at Jin Muhon.
Jin Muhon nodded.
"Yes. But if the Four Emperors had the orthodox version, mine is a branch offshoot."
"Heavens... so that's it. That's why he wasn't right in the head."
Muheo muttered to himself, nodding as if it all made sense now.
Buso-yong calmly summarized what she'd heard.
"So, to confirm: this Ma-seon has parasitized murim for centuries. He even splits his soul to control humans like puppets. It seems the Nangong Patriarch has fallen victim too. Is that right?"
Jin Muhon nodded.
It might be speculation, but informing murim's leaders of Ma-seon's existence was better regardless. With the Four Emperors—who Ma-seon had eyed warily—gone, the responsibility to stop him fell to them all.
"Yes. And if true, the Nangong Patriarch isn't his only puppet."
"Hrm..."
"......"
Geomje pulled his chair closer to Jin Muhon.
"Sword Demon. What should we do? My lost internal energy is probably due to this Ma-seon's sorcery too, right? Can't you do something about it?"
Geomje sounded almost plaintive, unbecoming of him. But for a martial artist, internal energy was life itself—no choice.
"Not at present."
Jin Muhon shook his head gravely.
It seemed like some form of Point Soul, but even he couldn't pinpoint the exact cause.
Geomje's face darkened instantly.
"First, let's confirm when the Nangong Patriarch was taken over."
At Jin Muhon's words, light returned to Geomje's eyes.
"Can you do that? What do I need to do?"
"Guide me to the Nangong Patriarch."
Jin Muhon stared at Geomje with unwavering eyes.
Geomje swallowed involuntarily.
The end.